17 June 2004
Promiscuity: Take your partner(s)
Fewer than 5% of mammalian species are monogamous. Included in that number is the prairie vole, but the closely related meadow vole is with the majority, having a polygamous social structure. In a remarkable example of an apparently simple change modifying complex behaviour, the artificial increase of vasopressin V1a receptors (V1aRs) in the ventral forebrain of the naturally promiscuous vole species has been found to increase monogamous behaviour. Using a viral vector, the V1aR gene was transferred into meadow voles, which naturally have low numbers of V1aRs in this brain region. It is easy to imagine how, in a population of voles with variable V1aR expression and selective pressure for pair formation, monogamy could evolve quite rapidly. However, this gene is not acting alone, but as part of a finely poised set of pre-existing biological pathways needing one small change to tip the balance.
Enhanced partner preference in a promiscuous
species by manipulating the expression of a single gene
MIRANDA M. LIM, ZUOXIN WANG, DANIEL E. OLAZÁBAL, XIANGHUI
REN, ERNEST F. TERWILLIGER & LARRY J. YOUNG
Nature 429, 754–757 (2004); doi:10.1038/nature02539
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Neurobiology: Why voles stick together
EVAN BALABAN
The tendency for animals to form social bonds after sexual activity varies
greatly from species to species. Work with voles illuminates a molecular
pathway in the brain that influences such differences.
Nature 429, 711–712 (2004); doi:10.1038/429711a
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